I should have chosen a distinctly "English" word like "bvacation/b" or "vandal"? something with no Russian counterpart. So let's ask: How might one see and then pronounce an unfamiliar word that looks like Uandal? b...../b *ward- (hence English ward, warden). Similarly, Basque had initial w as in the root *wask of the Latinized bVasconia/b, which evolved into Old French Guascogne (Modern Gascogne), the name of an area of Southern France which was Basque-speaking in ancient times. ...
